Tag Archive for customer service

Customer-centric smarter services rely on the perfect platform

FieldOne Sky 3rd platform solutionEarlier this month, we sponsored and participated in the 2013 Smarter Services Executive Symposium, and reported on the successful event.

Soon afterward, Jon Carroll, CEO of The Service Council, published his series: 5 Key Takeaways from the 2013 Smarter Services Executive Symposium (the final entry went up last week). Since we agree wholeheartedly on the following, we figured it was worth sharing.

Jon’s first takeaway from the event was Developing a Customer-Centric Mission is Key. It is critical to steer the service organization in this direction – and embrace it as a company-wide philosophy. Service enterprises can not narrow the focus on their service teams alone; it must be all areas of the company that fully subscribe to the customer-centric ideal.

There are five questions Jon asks when considering the creation of a customer-centric mission. Drilling down further, let’s focus on the fifth question – mainly, the second half:

Who is delivering the experience? Do they have the information/tools necessary to do so?

As discussed in the latest Sky Webinar Series, the right platform is key to seamless service integration – and seamless integration leads to more productive techs and enthusiastic customers. Consider that the field service management platform is at the base of all your operations, connecting all your data with all your techs and the rest of the entire enterprise.

So what is your platform based on? Here’s what your field service management solution might have been based on:

  • Build: It is very costly in time and money, and requires extensive knowledge, to create a completely customized field service solution from the ground up.
  • Buy: Off-the-shelf applications tend to be rigid; after all, customization is limited. Your employees are stuck with the packaged user interface. And even as a pre-packaged solution, it does require some level of expertise for deployment.

Since platform is key, what business can afford to take on the risks of building or off-the-shelf solutions? The ultimate platform is a combination of building a customized field service management layer on top of a top quality, industry standard platform. This powerful integration means any field service enterprise gets the high quality features and performance they should expect, with the enormous range of customization they require. Open architecture, flexibility, and even third party plugins are just a few of the reasons why this solution is the solution for customer-centric service enterprises.

FieldOne’s Sky solution is exactly that: a field service management solution built on the strength of Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM, a platform with proven capability. For more information on how the Sky solution works to your customer-centric company philosophy, contact us.

Forrester: Field service a top tech priority for businesses

Top Technology ChecklistWhen it comes to prioritizing investment in a company’s technologies, there’s no question that departments directly handling the customer will usually come first.

William Band, VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester recently reported on results from Forrester’s Forrsights Software Survey Q4 2012. The top three areas of a business to receive technology investment? Not surprisingly, sales came first (42%), with customer service tying for second with corporate services (36%).

But in this survey of 2200 software decision-makers, ahead of marketing, in fourth place, comes field service at 27%. After all, field service is ultimately customer-facing – and therefore an area of business that must excel at offering top service. If techs have access to high quality technology, their customers will absolutely feel it -and of course, the opposite is also true.

This point comes across even more strongly in the mobile portion of the survey. Field service came in second after sales, at 42%, when 704 mobile software development decision makers  were asked which departments get the most focus when it comes to mobile software strategy and investments.

 

So where do your company’s priorities lie? Is field service in the top three? And if not, are you ready to start making a bigger investment in your techs’ success?

Service With A Smile: What drives success in the field service industry

Field service with a smileTrue or false: Sales are what drive company success.

Seems obvious, but our Senior VP of Sales & Marketing, Jim Hare, presents another side to the success story: service with a smile. How you accommodate and commit to customers’s satisfaction is what essentially drives your business. Generating record sales the crucial ingredient for a truly successful company. But if your business isn’t retaining those customers, what is it worth in the long run?

Especially in competitive markets, there’s no question that high-quality customer service is not just the cherry on top – it’s just got to be part of your core offering.

Check out Jim Hare’s recent article in Loyalty360 to learn more about building your business on quality service: State of the Industry: Service With a Smile. Now More Important Than Ever

How does your business incorporate quality customer service into its core offering?

The seven letter ‘E’ word.

Great customer service seems to require many things: personnel. A company handbook. An expensive CRM system.

But underneath it all, says Michael Hess, self-described as “obsessed to the point of insanity” with customer service, is one seven-letter word: Empathy.

Without it, you’ll barely put the ‘service’ in customer service.

Hess lists five questions you can ask yourself while dealing with a customer service situation:

  • How does the person I’m trying to help feel?
  • How would I feel if I were that person?
  • No matter the request or the “rules,” is there something I can/should do to help?
  • What would I expect to be done for me if the roles were reversed?
  • In the end, what would make this customer satisfied or (better yet) happy, and is there any reason I can’t do it or find someone who can?

Businesses should be cautious not to dehumanize their customers, prospects, and general audiences. It’s fine to layer on the guidebooks and technology if they work for you, but don’t forget that a little customer empathy can go a long way in your customer relationships.

See the original CBS article for more.

 

Save face and face your critics.

The Harvard Business Review posted a crucial face-saving article for all of us in the field service industry: how to face your critics and customers when they’re coming to you in negative mode, harboring criticism and complaints.

It happens to the best of us: Once in a while, a customer proves tough to please or one of our team members slips on a bad day. Rather than run and hide, we need to put our best ‘face’ forward and approach the customer with a helpful, healthy, head-on conversation.

Here’s a taste of the HBR’s facing-the-music tips:

  • Show up: Have the conversation. You’re not afraid; you’re a leader, and leaders take responsibility.
  • Be open: Create the opportunity and invite your customer or audience to join the conversation.
  • Acknowledge your shortcomings: It’s not just about going on the defensive. Back yourself up, and explain where you’re coming from.
  • Leave them wanting more: Keep aware so you know when to end the conversation.

Read the full article here. How have you dealt with these types of situations? Leave your tips and experience in the comments.